The battle with Xia Linlang had left his injuries relatively minor, but the energy expenditure had been enormous. Yang Kai spent several days recuperating before he recovered roughly seventy to eighty percent of his strength.
At this point, the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven had begun to experience intermittent tremors — subtle but unmistakable, a clear indication that those Upper-grade Open Heaven cultivators had already breached the gateway guarded by the painting scroll's protective art and were now forcibly tearing through the dimensional barrier.
Once they punched a hole in it, they would pour straight through.
The combined might of four Upper-grade Open Heaven cultivators was overwhelming. Even if Yang Kai were to briefly join forces with Xia Linlang, they would stand no chance.
Xia Linlang was reluctant to start a battle within the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven for fear that the tens of millions of lives here would be caught in the crossfire. That meant Yang Kai had to find a way to remove her concern — only then could they leverage the terrain advantage of the Cave Heaven to stand against the enemy.
Xia Linlang clearly had no intention of taking those tens of millions of lives into her own Small Universe, even though she had the capacity to do so.
A Seventh-grade Open Heaven cultivator's Small Universe had already transitioned from ethereal to corporeal, so accommodating tens of millions of lives was no problem at all. Moreover, sheltering living beings within one's Small Universe allowed their reproduction to gradually strengthen one's own foundations over time — saving a great deal of arduous cultivation in the long run.
But doing so would be nothing short of a catastrophe for those people. The moment Xia Linlang engaged in combat with a powerful enemy, the resulting upheaval within her Small Universe would leave how many of those tens of millions alive?
Yang Kai had originally considered taking the inhabitants of the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven into his own Small Universe. Though he was only a Sixth-grade Open Heaven cultivator, his Small Universe was anchored by the World Spring, so there was no risk of the inhabitants being slaughtered by dimensional tremors.
But if he did that, the secret of his Small Universe's transition from ethereal to corporeal would be exposed!
Xia Linlang might be merciful toward those countless lives, but her attitude toward him was another matter entirely. If she learned of this secret, there was no telling what schemes she might devise.
After turning the matter over in his mind, Yang Kai could only resort to the age-old stratagem — building a road in plain sight while secretly taking a hidden path.
Retrieving the jade pendant from Xia Linlang earlier had been preparation for exactly this.
He teleported above a vast, unbroken mountain range and looked down. Ridge upon ridge rose beneath him, stretching ten thousand li like a great dragon lying prone across the land.
Yang Kai took out the jade pendant and pinched it between his fingertips, channeling his consciousness into it while silently activating the Space Laws. In the next instant, the majestic force of heaven and earth within the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven surged violently, and the ground for hundreds of thousands of li in every direction heaved and shook.
Though he was now a Sixth-grade Open Heaven cultivator, accomplishing what he was attempting using his own strength alone would have been exceedingly difficult. But leveraging his status as half-master of the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven made it far more manageable.
The commotion was considerable, and naturally the other half-master could not fail to notice.
Sure enough, after only a few moments, Xia Linlang — who had been meditating in the Pear Blossom Palace — appeared before Yang Kai in a flash, her expression dark. "Yang Kai! What are you doing?!" she demanded sharply.
Under her perception, Yang Kai was unmistakably slicing away territory from the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven! And not a small portion either — fully hundreds of thousands of li!
Such tearing would damage the Yuan Qi of the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven as a whole. If Yang Kai succeeded, the Cave Heaven's foundational reserves would be reduced by at least twenty to thirty percent.
Otherwise, Xia Linlang would not have been so furious.
Her arrival was exactly what Yang Kai had anticipated. They were both half-masters of this Pear Blossom Cave Heaven — here, who could possibly hide anything from the other?
Yang Kai, however, showed not a trace of nervousness. He continued tearing away territory as he said, "The reason you don't want to fight the invaders within the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven is simply that you're worried the inhabitants will be caught in the crossfire. But if I can relocate them all somewhere safe, then naturally your concern is taken care of."
"Back when my cultivation was still low, I once obtained a spatial Artifact — much like your painting scroll, it contained a self-contained pocket world capable of sheltering living beings. Unfortunately, that Artifact was destroyed long ago. But with my current abilities, forging a new one of that kind wouldn't be particularly difficult."
Back in the Star Boundary, he had once forged Heaven and Earth Beads similar to the Mysterious World Bead. During the great war between the human and demon races, every army commander had been given one to facilitate large-scale troop migrations.
Yang Kai had plenty of experience with this, so forging another Mysterious World Bead-like artifact now posed no problem whatsoever.
Xia Linlang caught on as well, her fury subsiding somewhat. "You intend to transfer the living beings here into that Artifact?"
"Exactly!" Yang Kai nodded. "That way, we can go all out against the invaders without holding back."
Xia Linlang's slender brows knitted tightly together, her expression shifting.
Yang Kai scoffed. "What is there to hesitate about? Even if you're willing to break through the barrier with them when the invaders breach it, all to protect those tens of millions of lives, without your protection here, those top-grade experts in their rage could easily turn on those same people. Whether they live or die at that point will be entirely beyond your control. Better to give them a fighting chance right now!"
Xia Linlang didn't hesitate for long. She gave a nod. "Do you need my help?"
Yang Kai nodded in return. "If you're willing, go gather the tens of millions of living beings in this place now, so we don't run out of time when it comes to the transfer."
Xia Linlang thought it over. "I can collect them into my Small Universe first, then move them into your Artifact once it's finished."
"Works for me!"
Xia Linlang vanished in a flash. With tens of millions of living beings spread throughout the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven, they were obviously not all gathered in one place, so collecting them all into her Small Universe would take some time.
Spatial energy surged continuously around Yang Kai as he drew upon his mastery of the Laws of Space, supplemented by his status as half-owner of the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven. It took him a full half day of effort to finally sever the selected territory — hundreds of thousands of miles of land — from the whole.
The foundation of the entire Pear Blossom Cave Heaven instantly diminished by more than thirty percent. The sky darkened, the earth quaked, and mountains shook as though the end of days had arrived.